tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12946845.post8306472180335310706..comments2024-02-23T23:53:54.842+09:00Comments on Gusts Of Popular Feeling: If they get uppity, sic the internet on themmatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10296009437690229938noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12946845.post-14715134810459035002010-10-25T11:24:34.609+09:002010-10-25T11:24:34.609+09:00That's such a powerful little passage, in my o...That's such a powerful little passage, in my opinion anyways:<br /><br />"Before the lawsuit against Ivy, a similar one had occurred in 2004 against Choi Jin-sil, who was a spokesperson for Shinhan until she revealed her bruised face after being beaten by her husband, and the company successfully sued her for damaging their reputation. The result of an appeal was in Shinhan's favor, but came not too long after Choi had killed herself, perhaps in part due to malicious rumors spread by netizens. "<br /><br />That's so utterly fucked up. I'm sorry to have nothing to add to the discussion and to be using swear words but it reminds me of the lines from a song: "Clean words don't describe the shit that I've seen." That's foul.harihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08743388082326028857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12946845.post-6402342750064993832010-10-24T18:59:59.398+09:002010-10-24T18:59:59.398+09:00A boycott wouldn't affect their bottom line mu...A boycott wouldn't affect their bottom line much. They are not in the business for the native English community. They are in the business for English-speaking Koreans. <br /><br />Our opinions on their rag don't even appear on their radar. If they did, you would never see Kang Shit-who's byline in that birdcage liner ever again.Darth Babaganooshhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03292625818454308095noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12946845.post-56592639123822169682010-10-24T17:01:10.894+09:002010-10-24T17:01:10.894+09:00The Times was never a good paper to begin with, bu...The Times was never a good paper to begin with, but has been sinking into a quagmire of suckitude all the faster these days. <br /><br />Notice how many shoddy, plagiarized UFO stories they've been running? Today they printed a series of photos "mistiries of UFO" without explanation, and obviously without a proof reader. The photos? Clearly photoshop ripoffs from other sites. Seriously, WTF? And they want to be a reliable news source on any topic?<br /><br />I seriously think we should start a boycott of this rag! They are an embarrassment to journalism, and the English speaking community here.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14933893841658796471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12946845.post-51723956045484581452010-10-22T21:48:46.992+09:002010-10-22T21:48:46.992+09:00I don’t know what to say...that may be one of the ...I don’t know what to say...that may be one of the most disturbing, f’ed up stories I’ve ever read. Not only was the crime itself despicable beyond the pale, but the reaction of the police and the assailant’s family was...wow.... I became physically sick as I read that. <br /><br />Fred Alfrod, in his book “Think No Evil: Korean Values in the age of Globalization” argued (wrongly in my opinion) that “Koreans do merely disbelieve in evil. They have constructed a world in which it cannot exist.” I’m not a religious man, but if ever there was proof that evil exists in Korean society, then this is it. <br /><br />Do you know of any cases where a Korean male was treated to a public witchhunt for something frivolous like yelling at an old person? The nearest I can think of would be Tablo and the whole fake degree thing, but he would be classified under “celebrity.” <br /><br />Another case that passed without netizen reprisal would be that story from earlier this year about the parents who starved their kid to death while they played RPGs at the PC Bang. I guess because a "family" was involved Internet vigilantism would be too much for Korean sensibilities.miltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13773908522441619579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12946845.post-46909048683764904172010-10-22T20:57:33.797+09:002010-10-22T20:57:33.797+09:00I'd agree with your last paragraph. Also, a Ko...I'd agree with your last paragraph. Also, a Korean friend who teaches at a high school (ironically in the same neighbourhood as the unnamed middle school) mentioned that male teacher - female student pairings weren't so uncommon, but what stood out in this case was the fact that it was the other way around this time. <br /><br />Your mention of the 16 students who gang-raped a mentally handicapped student reminded me that there was <a href="http://populargusts.blogspot.com/2008/06/justice-for-miryang-victims.html" rel="nofollow">a case</a> back in 2004 where dozens of high school students gang raped up to 5 girls over a period of months (after blackmailing one). That certainly got a netizen response (and on offline demo as well), and pictures of the purported boys were spread around. An exception to the rule, perhaps because the crime - and how the police dealt with it (blaming the victims) - was so outrageous at the time.matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10296009437690229938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12946845.post-80128804484527842772010-10-22T19:03:05.980+09:002010-10-22T19:03:05.980+09:00I haven't seen any soul-searching personally, ...I haven't seen any soul-searching personally, but Metropolitican made a similar observation a few weeks back. <br /><br />http://metropolitician.blogs.com/scribblings_of_the_metrop/2010/10/on-the-subject-of-subway-and-other-violence.html<br /><br />I’ve also noticed the trend of collective, public humiliation of Korean Girls Behaving Badly. That’s not to say that the women involved are innocent or that men are let off scot-free. But you definitely don’t see the same reaction when Korean men “act out of line.” There might be public criticism, to be sure, but nothing like the witch-hunts and publicity we’ve seen in the case of women. There have been instances of male teachers who molest, rape, or consort with their students in less-than-wholesome ways, but their private lives aren’t exposed like this teacher was. I’m also reminded of the recent case of the 16 Daejeon high school students who gang-raped a mentally handicapped student on school property (one of the most morally abhorrent stories I’ve read recently) and faced no charges on very specious grounds. I’m seeing disgust on the message boards, but no calls to expose their identities, spread malicious lies about them, or growing drumbeats for an all-out campaign to ruin their reputations (and to be perfectly honest, I wouldn’t mind if such a thing did happen in this case). I guess boys will be boys, but girls had better know their place. When a Korean man does something horrendous, like burn down Namdaemun, rape a child, or act like a fool in public, we’re implored to “please understand their situation” and regaled with excuses about how they had “just drank too much” or “had a difficult life.” But the same leeway isn’t shown to Korean woman, especially if their deed involved—gasp—white men.<br /><br />If I had to do some armchair sociology, I’d say this is probably a manifestation of deep-rooted culture-based sexism butting up against a burgeoning, but incipient woman’s equality movement. Perhaps there’s some collective male resentment at the prospect of woman being liberated from the “traditional” roles as silent homemakers and obedient baby-factories and entering the work-force to compete directly with men, while at the same time overturning traditional family structure.miltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13773908522441619579noreply@blogger.com